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PREDICTION OF BOIL OFF RATE IN LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS STORAGE

PROCESSES

Conference Paper · December 2017

DOI: 10.5593/sgem2017H/15/S06.051

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 Section Oil and Gas Exploration

PREDICTION OF BOIL OFF RATE IN LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS

STORAGE PROCESSES.

Tomasz Włodek1, M. Sc., P. E.

1
AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland

ABSTRACT
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is stored in cryogenic tanks at receiving terminals. During
the LNG storage some part of LNG evaporates into gas phase. Evaporated LNG is
called Boil off Gas (BOG). Heat flow has an influence on evaporation process. It
indicates continuous boil-off of small fraction of LNG due to heat flow from the
ambient air through tank insulation. Vaporization process causes changes in the
composition of stored LNG. Increased vaporization process may negatively affect the
stability and safety of the LNG storage process. Rate of vaporization (boil off rate)
should be precisely determined. For these reasons different calculation models to
determine the LNG boil off rate are shown in this paper, also there are presented some
boil off rate calculation results for different Liquefied Natural Gas compositions
representing different sources of LNG. Obtained results show that Boil Off Rate is
higher for LNG which contains nitrogen. Due to lower bubble temperature nitrogen
evaporates first from the LNG, it causes significant LNG density drop in surface layer
in storage tank. Difference of densities in surface and bottom layer of stored LNG may
cause the stratification process and consequently affect the stability of storage process
(higher possibility of danger roll-over phenomenon).
Keywords: Boil Off Rate, BOG, LNG, LNG storage terminals, Vaporization,

INTRODUCTION
The increase of energy demand in the world has to be balanced against the need to
mitigate ever increasing emissions from fossil fuels use, without compromising the
energy security. In this case the natural gas as the cleanest of all fossil fuels has a key
role in global energy mix. Currently the share of natural gas in the global energy mix is
above 20%, but the many forecasts show that this share will increase by about 50% to
2035 [1]. The increase of natural gas demand has an impact on global trade in natural
gas market. Natural gas may be transported trough pipelines in gaseous phase, but this
way of transport is effective for global short and medium distances with good local
conditions. In other way of transport the natural gas is firstly liquefied and transported
as liquefied natural gas (LNG) by ships. The choice of transport method depends on the
distance (LNG is the best way for long distances), the natural gas fields location or
safety and continuity of supplies. Due to these facts liquefied natural gas has an
increasingly important role in the global natural gas market. Liquefied natural gas is
transported by special ships from the liquefaction plants to regasification receiving
terminals. Before regasification LNG is stored in insulated storage tanks at pressures
above barometric pressure and temperatures close to LNG bubble point. During the
process of LNG storage due to heat transfer into tank some part of LNG evaporates into
gas phase, which is called Boil-Off Gas (BOG). Continuous vaporization results in

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pressure increase in tank. It may result in dangerous overpressurization of tank therefore

the vaporized gas is removed from tank. For these reasons the boil off rate should be
precisely determined. Boil off gas can be utilized as fuel, reliquefied, compressed and
put into gas transportation network. The Boil-off gas management during the LNG
storage process and the assessment of its thermodynamic properties are key issues in the
technical assessment of the LNG receiving and regasification terminal energy systems
[2],[3]. In this paper the analysis of boil-off rate models has been performed. Models
accounts for the variation of BOG mass flow, composition and thermodynamic
properties during storage process. Heat flow from ambient environment into storage
tank and changes in the composition of stored liquefied natural gas have an impact on
evaporation process.
Boil Off Gas

Pressure slightly above

atmospheric pressure

Boil Off Gas

Heat Heat

LNG
Temperature 111 – 112 K

Heat
Fig. 1 Scheme of vaporization process in LNG storage tank

LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS ANALYSIS

The volume of one cubic meter of LNG corresponds to a volume of approximately 600
cubic meters of natural gas in normal conditions. Bubble temperature of LNG depends
on its composition, for typical light LNG composition this temperature is about 111 K
(-162°C), for heavy LNG the bubble temperature is higher and for LNG containing
higher amounts of nitrogen is lower [3]. Changes of bubble point temperature as a
function of pressure are presented in Figure 2. Analysis of Boil Off Rate was performed
for three typical LNG compositions. First type is light LNG with high methane content
(above 95%), second is heavy (rich) LNG with high molar fraction of ethane (max
10%), propane (max 5%) and butanes (max 1%) and the third type is LNG with high
molar content of nitrogen (about 1-2%) [4]. Assumed compositions of LNG are
presented in Table 1.

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 Section Oil and Gas Exploration

LNG extremely low temperature makes it a cryogenic liquid. It is unstable and has high
sensitivity to temperature changes. Long term storage of LNG indicates the "weathering
process" [5]. Over time of storage the composition of LNG will change and that will
have an impact on its thermodynamic properties, in particular the boiling temperature
and latent heat of vaporization, but also its calorific value. The process of weathering
may be summarized as progressive changes of thermophysical properties of stored LNG
through vaporization process, due to the heat transfer into storage tank. Boil off gas
prediction of stored LNG has great significance in the LNG industry, especially in the
regasification terminals where an accurate estimation of boil off rate allows to predict
changes in composition and thermodynamic parameters of stored LNG. It is important
also from natural gas market point of view because changes of composition of delivered
natural gas into natural gas transmission system may affect natural gas parameters
required for final customers.
Table 1 Assumed liquefied natural gas compositions with basic parameters
Light LNG Heavy LNG LNG with N2
Component
[%mol] [%mol] [%mol]
methane 96,4 88,7 94,2
ethane 2,5 7,3 2,6
propane 0,9 2,7 0,8
iso-butane 0,1 0,6 0,1
n-butane 0,1 0,6 0,1
nitrogen 0,0 0,1 2,2
Latent heat of vaporization [kJ/kg] 509,25 505,02 502,46
LNG density at bubble point
[kg/m3] 435,23 463,88 450,75
(atmospheric pressure)

Fig. 2 Bubble point temperature as a function of pressure

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MODEL OF HEAT TRANSFER

The most commonly encountered type of liquefied natural gas storage tank is "full
containment" tank. It consists of a double tank, where the inner is made of nickel steel
(9% Ni) and the outer is made of carbon steel. Space between tanks is filled with perlite
which has a very low thermal conductivity. The double tank is separated from the
surroundings by wall made of strengthened concrete, which is also a support structure
for the roof of the tank. The space between the outer tank and the wall is predominantly
filled with low thermal conductivity polyurethane foam as secondary insulation.
Scheme of multilayer storage tank construction is presented in Figure 3.

r5
r4
r3
r2
r1
ri

Secondary insulation (glass wool)

Primary insulation

Concrete wall
(perlite)

LNG

Primary bottom insulation

Secondary bottom insulation

Concrete foundation

Fig. 3 Typical full containment tank construction

One of the most important factors for boil off rate prediction is correct description of
heat inleak. Heat transfer calculations are based on Fourier law, which can be written as:

q  k  T

The storage tank is a construction with multilayer structure. Each layer has different
thermal properties. Also heat transfer has to be considered not only for walls of the tank.
Energy as heat is transferred to cryogenic fluid (LNG) through roof and bottom of the
tank. Heat transfer through tank wall is defined with formula [6]:

 2  H LNG  TLNG  Tout 

Qw 
1 1 r  1 r  1 r  1 r  1 r  1
  ln  1    ln  2    ln  3    ln  4    ln  5  
ri   in k1  ri  k 2  r1  k3  r2  k 4  r3  k 5  r4  r5   out

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 Section Oil and Gas Exploration

where: HLNG - tank height filled with LNG [m], TLNG- temperature of LNG [K], Tout -
ambient temperature [K], ki - thermal conductivity of layer [W/(m·K)], ri - inner tank
radius [m], αin - inner convective heat transfer coefficient [W/(m2∙K)], αout - outer
convective heat transfer coefficient [W/(m2∙K)].

Roof of the tank is considered as a spherical doom of concrete with flat plate (inner tank
suspended roof and insulation). Typical heat transfer trough the roof (Qt) of the tank
with assumed dimensions is closed to 40-50 kW (in this paper Qt = 50 kW is assumed).
Bottom of the tank is considered as plate partition which consist of concrete foundation,
inner and outer tanks walls and insulation (generally fiberglass or polyurethane form).
Heat transfer through the bottom of the tank can be written as:

   r 2  TLNG  Ts 
Qb 
1 s1 s 2 s3 1
   
 in k1 k 2 k 3  s

where: Ts - ground temperature [K], αs - outer convective heat transfer coefficient (from
soil) [W/(m2∙K)].

Total heat transfer from ambient air to cryogenic tank is given in formula:

Q  Qw  Qt  Qb

Process of liquefied natural gas storage is sensitive to changes of ambient conditions. In

presented case the wide range of ambient temperatures is considered between cold and
heat waves extremes (from 260 K (-13 deg C) in winter season to 310 K (37 deg C) in
summer season).

MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND RESULTS

The boil off gas is a key issue for technical and safety reasons in LNG storage process.
Evaporation of LNG may cause increase of pressure in LNG storage tank and condition
changes in storage tank. Also compositions and properties of LNG and boil off gas
change during storage process. For these reasons boil off problem in whole LNG supply
chain is one of the most important factors. The boil off rate may change also with
variability of ambient temperature and pressure in the tank. Generally in operational
conditions the boil off rate is calculated as a percentage of total volume of LNG in the
storage tank during 24 hours. It can be written as one of the simplest and most popular
formulas in LNG industry [7],[8]:

Q  24  3600
BOR   100%
h  VLNG  

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17th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2017

where: Q - total heat transfer [W], Δh - latent heat of vaporization [kJ/kg], VLNG -
volume of LNG in storage tank [m3], ρ - density of LNG [kg/m3].

Boil Off Rate may also be calculated from the mass balance, as in formula [5], [9]:

 dB d (  LVL ) d ( V VV )
B  
dt dt dt

Above equation is based on the energy balance:

dH L dH V dB
Qin    hv
dt dt dt
where: dB/dt - Boil Off Rate, Hv, HL - vapour and liquid enthalpies, hv - vapour specific
enthalpy, ρV,ρL - densities of vapour and liquid phases, VL, VV - liquid and vapour
volumes.
The second proposed method is more complex due to necessity of performance of VLE
(vapour-liquid equilibria) calculations. In this paper boil off rate prediction is performed
with use both presented methods, also with their combination.
Analysis of LNG evaporation was performed with assumption of constant pressure
maintained in the tank. Set pressure was applied slightly above atmospheric pressure
(1.3 bar).

Fig. 4 Heat transfer into stored LNG Fig. 5 Boil Off Rate for assumed LNG
as a function of ambient temperature compositions as a function of ambient
temperature
Due to the lowest boiling point of LNG containing nitrogen, the heat flow from the
environment is the highest for this case (Figure 4). Under the law of heat conduction,
the increase in the amount of heat transferred to the stored LNG increases linearly with
the increase of ambient temperature. It should be noted that the amount of heat
delivered to LNG directly from the environment decreases with the storage time, as the
level of LNG in the tank decreases. In this case, more heat is supplied to the vapour in
storage tank and some part of heat is supplied by the evaporation process. The

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evaporation rate (BOR) was calculated for the assumed constant LNG quantity in the
storage tank. It is assumed in industrial conditions that the boil off rate should not
exceed 0,05% vol/day. In the assumed case, depending on the ambient temperature
values of boil off rate range from 0.0177-0.0193% vol/day at an ambient temperature of
260K to 0.0228-0.0246% vol/day for an ambient temperature of 310K. It should be
noted that boil off rate is the highest for LNG containing nitrogen and the lowest for
heavy LNG with heavier hydrocarbons (Figure 5). The evaporation rate calculated as a
percentage of LNG volume in the tank increases significantly as the LNG level in the
reservoir decreases.

Fig. 6 Boil Off Gas composition for LNG

Fig. 7 Density of BOG as a function of
with high nitrogen content as a function
temperature at constant pressure in tank.
of boiling temperature (p = 1.3 bar)
Table 2 Compositions of Boil Off Gas for assumed LNG compositions at bubble point
under storage pressure of 1.3 bar

Light LNG Heavy LNG LNG with N2

[%mol] [%mol] [%mol]
Methane 99,993 97,624 60,681
Ethane 0,007 0,017 0,003
Propane trace trace trace
Butane trace trace trace
Isobutane trace trace trace
Nitrogen trace 2,359 39,316

The composition of the evaporated gas varies according to the composition of the LNG.
The dominant component of evaporated gas is methane. The situation is different in
case of nitrogen content in LNG. Nitrogen evaporates first and results in up to about
40% of its content in boil off gas for about 2% content in LNG. Evaporation of nitrogen
significantly affects the LNG parameters in the storage tank. As the temperature in
storage tank increases, the molar fraction of nitrogen in the evaporated gas decreases

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17th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2017

(more methane evaporates in higher temperature). Also, with temperature increase, the
boil off gas density decreases, in case of high nitrogen content density decrease is more
visible due to faster evaporation of heavier nitrogen

CONCLUSIONS
Storage of LNG with different compositions is a complex problem. Boil off rate
problem in LNG industry is one of the key factors for stability and safety of LNG
storage process. An increased amount of BOG can cause a dangerous increase of
pressure in tank [10]. Generation of boil off gas in storage tank depends on heat transfer
from ambient air. Boil Off Gas is used during unloading process in which is transported
from storage tank to the ship to prevent the negative pressure in tanks on the ship. The
short analysis off boil off rate problem at storage terminals was presented in this paper.
Boil off gas generation also depends on the composition of LNG. In addition besides
ambient temperature, the main factors are the LNG temperature and the pressure in the
tank. Boil off rate is higher for LNG with high nitrogen molar fraction than for Light
LNG. Heavy LNG has a lower evaporation rate than light LNG. Boil off rate increase
with increases of ambient temperature. It results in higher heat transfer from ambient air
to LNG in the tank. Performed analysis for assumed LNG mixtures shows that Boil Off
Gas composition at bubble point is based mainly on methane. In case of high nitrogen
content in LNG (for LNG it is only a few percent), the nitrogen fraction in evaporated
gas is initially up to 40%. This results in significant changes in LNG parameters, which,
when not properly managed, can lead to a potential threat to the stability of the process
(stratification and consequently roll-over case).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work has been prepared within the Young Researchers Program; Drilling, Oil
& Gas Faculty; AGH UST; grant number: 15.11.190.689.

REFERENCES
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[7] Adom E., Islam S. Z., Ji X.: Modelling of Boil-Off Gas in LNG Tanks: A Case
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